Reading

Lesson 4: “Photos: 3 Very Different Views of Japanese Internment” Article

50 min

California CCSS: Focus Standards

California CCSS: Supporting Standards

ELD Standards

Student Lesson

Lesson 4: “Photos: 3 Very Different Views of Japanese Internment” Article

Student Learning Objectives

Foundations

Students will use examples to test, confirm, and apply the meaning of a newly learned vocabulary word.

Content

will read an article about historical photographs and discuss how the author develops his claims through specific examples.

Language

Students will explain how a photographer’s perspective and intent shape meaning by using interpretive academic verbs and textual and visual evidence from the article.Foundational Skills Students will use examples to test, confirm, and apply the meaning of a newly learned vocabulary word.

Essential Question

How do historical records—texts, images, and testimony—shape what is remembered about the past?

Connections to

Knowledge-Building:

Students will learn how different photographers approached the task of documenting a historic injustice and gain background knowledge about the central figures in Seen and Unseen.

Enduring Understanding:

Historical records reflect the perspectives and the intents of the people who made and preserved them.

Future Lessons:

In Lesson 5, students will begin engaging with Seen and Unseen and will build understanding of the circumstances that led to the prisons. Then, in Lesson 6, students will read a primary source that shows the official government perspective on Japanese American incarceration.

Unit Performance Task:

The article reinforces the idea that historical records, even when they seem objective, express a point of view.

Lesson Pacing

Lesson Flow	Purpose of Learning Experience
Launch5 Minutes	Students will engage in a Quick Write exercise exploring the structure of nonfiction books that integrate images, illustrations, and primary sources.
Literacy Lab10 Minutes	Students will be introduced to a new vocabulary word relevant to both the article and the anchor text. They will generate examples of correct use and relate the word to the work that photographers do.
Learning in Action30 Minutes	Part A: Determine Central Ideas (RI.7.2) Students will engage with the article by reading and annotating the text in pairs. Part B: Analyze Connections (RI.7.3) Students will engage in a Think-Pair-Share about the article, responding to questions about the text.

Vocabulary

Vocabulary Addressed in Lesson

intent:: the goal or aim of a course of action

Additional Vocabulary

barracks:: buildings used as housing for soldiers; very plain and simple housing that is meant for temporary use
subject:: in photography, the person or people, place, or object(s) that a photographer chooses to take pictures of

Material List